What the papers say: Lots of praise after Arias debut

“Bayer squander win at newcomers,” is the headline in the online edition of the Rheinische Post and the report describes the balance of power in the second half: “Stuttgart were livelier after the break but Leverkusen continued to have their chances. Moussa Diaby from a solo run (48’), Alario with a header (61’) as well as Karim Bellarabi (64’) failed to get past the in form Kobel in goal for the team coached by Pellegrino Matarazzo. The missed chances were to be punished. Stuttgart were awarded a free kick for a foul by Bellarabi on Roberto Massimo and that ended up with Sasa Kalajdzic heading in the equaliser from the set piece (77’). There were no more goalscoring opportunities in the disjointed end to the game. At the end of the day, the Werkself were left with a third draw in the third game.”

“Setbacks for the Werkself” was the view of the online edition of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger and that not only related to Bayer 04 dropping two points in Swabia but also the substitution through injury for goalscorer Patrik Schick as “he has all the qualities you would wish of a new striker.” Their analysis: “After the substitution of Schick, the Werkself lost control of the game. With every successful move, the determination and threat from the newly promoted club grew, although they regularly conceded counter-attacks but Bayer 04 were incapable on the day of being constructive and ending their moves with a the goal.”

There was lots of praise from the reporter for the debut of right back Santiago Arias who was named Man of the Match: “The Colombian was already the most reliable outfield player for Bayer 04 after just one week in training. He knows how to work and keep control of a flank, has the necessary pace, technique and tactical discipline. This position seems to be sorted for Leverkusen with him and former captain Lars Bender.”

The Cologne-based Express quotes Peter Bosz in their online edition: “We didn’t have a good game. We have the quality to do better in 1-1 situations.” The opening stages of the game were described as follows: “Leverkusen, with new right back Santiago Arias in the starting line-up for the first time, took control from the start and immediately looked to be functioning well as a unit. Quick pressing, fast moves down the wings and lots of possession were the trademark of the Bosz team in the opening stages. The early lead for the visitors was the logical progression. A quickly taken corner was crossed perfectly by the 17-year-old former FC Köln player Florian Wirtz for Schick to head into the back of the net.”

The Kicker also praises the good start for Leverkusen: “VfB played with a 3-4-2-1 formation albeit with Sosa dropping back to the left-side of defence to make the back three into a back four. Bayer played a 4-1-2-2-1 system. The Werkself use this to press aggressively. The Swabians could not cope and this produced lots of errors in their build-up play. That meant in the early stages the possession and challenge rates for Leverkusen were accordingly high. The opening goal fitted in well with this phase of play: Demirbay took a corner, Wirtz crossed from the left side of the penalty area to find Schick four yards out from goal and he was able to beat his markers Kempf and Mavropanos in the air to head in the opener (7’).”

Bild.de provides a neat summary: “First a Schick goal then a Schick shock.”